Bi-regional Europe– Latin America and the Caribbean Enlazando Alternativas Network and the Permanent People’s Tribunal’s
side event
Title: Global Justice Inc.: European Transnational Corporations versus Human Rights
Description:
There has been an increase in the practices of European transnational corporations that violate human rights in Latin America - a fact that is undeniable and for which there are many examples and considerable evidence. The European Union shares responsibility in these violations for the role it has played in the creation of a legal-political framework that allows TNCs to act with impunity. Faced with the absence of legal mechanisms that effectively oblige transnational corporations to respect the rights of the people, social movements have turned to other mechanisms to denounce and judge the violation of their rights, namely the Permanent People's Tribunal (PPT). The movements have also developed proposals to advance towards establishing an international normative framework to dismantle the power of TNCs. The PPT sessions in Vienna (2006) and Lima (2008) on Neoliberal Policies and European Transnationals in Latin America and the Caribbean have contributed not only to increasing the visibility of the denunciations and documenting the cases, but also to the strengthening of links of solidarity between movements in Europe and Latin America.
In this event, the experience of the Permanent People’s Tribunal and the analyses resulting from this experience will be presented. There will also be a debate on proposals on alternatives that have been elaborated from social movements’ perspectives.
Objectives:
1. Demonstrate European TNCs' responsibility in the cases of human rights violations denounced before the Permanent People's Tribunal.
2. Illustrate the complicity of the European Union, IFIs and European governments in the human rights violations committed by TNCs.
3. Present the experience and the results of the Permanent People's Tribunal.
4. Discuss concrete proposals on how to put an end to TNCs impunity and to the asymmetries that exist in the international legal system.
Panelists (to be confirmed):
Antonio Pigrau, Tribunal Permanente de los Pueblos - TPP
Alejandro Teitelbaum, Expert on TNCs and human rights
Erika Gonzalez, Observatorio de Multinacionales en América. Latina - OMAL
Jesus Carrón, Observatório de la Deuda en la Globalización - ODG
Moderator: Brid Brennan, Transnational Institute - TNI
Organizer: Bi-regional Europe– Latin America and the Caribbean Enlazando Alternativas Network and the Permanent People’s Tribunal
Date, time and location: Tuesday, October 6th, 2009, from 1 pm to 3 pm, Room XXII